Video of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi calling a Democratic lawmaker a "washed-up" lawyer circulated widely on X on Wednesday as she testified before House lawmakers about the handling of Jeffrey Epstein-related records.
Throughout the morning session of the testimony, Bondi and others clashed over her answers.
As Bondi refused to directly answer a question posed by Representative Jerry Nadler, Jamie Raskin, the Democratic ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said, "You can let her filibuster all day long. But not on our watch, not on our time. No way. I told you about that, Attorney General, before you started."
"You don't tell me anything!" Bondi retorted loudly, to which Raskin immediately responded in a raised voice, "Yeah, I did tell you because we saw what you did in the Senate."
"You washed-up loser lawyer, you're not even a lawyer," Bondi replied, as several others began talking.
Bondi testified on Capitol Hill about her department's handling of millions of files related to Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting sex trafficking charges, including redactions, as fallout over the release of those materials continued.
The hearing drew victims to the room and prompted sharp exchanges with Democratic members over redaction practices and compliance with congressional directives.
Throughout the morning session, Bondi and those questioning her exchanged several barbs. Nadler asked Bondi how many Epstein co-conspirators had been indicted by the Department of Justice.
She started to speak but was cut off by Nadler, causing her to yell out, "Excuse me! I'm going to answer the question...No, I'm gonna answer the question the way I want to answer the question."
Bondi then asked House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, to step in.
Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, accused Bondi of failing to properly redact some victims' names, calling it "jaded cruelty," and alleging she ignored the law.
Those sentiments were echoed by Nadler and Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington, who pressed Bondi to apologize to victims in the hearing room. That exchange also escalated into a shouting match.
"Trump derangement syndrome," often shortened to "TDS," is a political phrase used by some commentators and partisans to describe what they view as irrational or reflexive responses to President Donald Trump or his policies.
Bondi used it multiple times to describe Democrats such as Raskin and Jayapal when she did not answer questions posed to her during Wednesday’s hearing.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaking to Epstein victims during her opening statement on Wednesday: "I am deeply sorry for what any victim -- any victim -- has been through, especially as a result of that monster. If you have any information to share with law enforcement about anyone who has hurt you or abused you, the FBI is waiting to hear from you."
Representative Jamie Raskin said on Wednesday: 'You shockingly failed to redact many of the victims' names, which is what you were ordered to do by Congress. Some of the victims had come forward publicly, but many had not. Many had kept their torment private, even from family and friends, but you published their names, their identities, their images on thousands of pages for the world to see. So you ignored the law.'